We continue our series of historical investigations into the twelve specially-chosen followers of Jesus with this look at three who bore Hellenist names: Andrew, Philip, and Bartholomew. Andrew Andrew is a Greek name (Andreas = “manly”). All four New Testament gospels (Matt 4:18, 10:2; Mark 1:16; Luke 6:14; John 1:40, 6:8) identity him as …
Continue reading The Twelve Apostles, Part 4 – The Hellenists: Andrew, Philip, and Bartholomew
We continue with our series of historical investigations into the twelve specially-chosen followers of Jesus with this combined look at James and John, the sons of Zebedee. James, son of Zebedee The New Testament features a number of men named James (Greek Iakōbos from the Hebrew Ya’akov or Jacob). Most of what we know …
Continue reading The Twelve Apostles, Part 3: The Thunder Brothers, Sons of Zebedee
We carry on with part 2 of our historical investigation of the Twelve special persons chosen by Jesus to supplement his work. This blog will focus on Simon Peter. “Simon” is the Greek form of the Semitic name Šim`ôn, one of the most common Jewish names known to us from antiquity. It means “Yah(weh) has …
In this series of posts, we will explore the history of Jesus’s closest followers as recorded across numerous ancient Christian traditions. Along the way, we will find that these traditions are often confused, contradictory, or seriously lacking in details. Nevertheless, we will attempt to distill all the historical data possible and, at times, risk delving …
Getting as close to the historical Jesus as possible has been a preoccupation with biblical scholars since at least the 18th century. Many questions must be asked. For example, which of the Jesus-traditions (sayings and stories) now appearing in the New Testament and elsewhere are the oldest? Which are most likely historical? Which gospel was …
Our sources of information about Jesus are almost entirely limited to the four New Testament gospels. There are also certain non-Christian reports that help to confirm a few of the events in Jesus’s life including especially his crucifixion. Biblical historians, however, maintain that the gospels were written decades after Jesus’s death. That being the case, …
Continue reading The Human Jesus: How Much Do We Really Know About Him?
The resurrection is the bedrock event that launched a movement based on the belief that Jesus was and continued to be the Messiah of Israel despite his death and that he would soon return. Some suggest that, absent the resurrection event, Christianity would not have begun. The followers of Jesus would have gone their separate …
Continue reading Do You Have to be a Christian to Believe in Jesus’s Resurrection?
This month, both of my published books have been discussed online! My first book, The Upper Room and Tomb of David: The History, Art and Archaeology of the Cenacle on Mount Zion (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2016) was discussed in the Bible History Daily webpagepublished by Biblical Archaeology Review. Mark Dospěl considers "Did Jesus’ Last Supper …
One of the most fascinating events in the recorded life of Jesus occurred in Jerusalem and perhaps led to his death. I am referring to his actions in the temple with regard to the animal merchants and money changers. All four gospels report some version of the story in which Jesus drives out these functionaries …
Hello and welcome to the site! I am writing this blog to help interested readers explore the historical origins of Christianity. There are many great blog sites on the internet and I encourage you to explore them. My humble contribution focuses on issues that are of particular interest to me. Who am I? I am …
David Christian Clausen 